Monday, March 27, 2006

Corn Cakes

This weekend I made corn pancakes from Erin Pavlina's Vegan Family Favorites for breakfast, and we all instantly fell in love! Made with cornmeal, whole wheat pastry flour and melted Earth Balance, they honestly taste so flavorful and buttery that they don't need any syrup or toppings. I made another batch for shmoo's lunch, this time adding lots of fresh corn kernels to make them more corn frittery (I also used 4 oz. silken tofu instead of Ener-G, and used 1 cup rice milk instead of 3/4 cup soymilk and 1/4 water). I packed them with a side of shmoo's favorite "Tuscan Bean Medley" (cannellini beans and chestnut limas) from Trader Joe's, and an organic orange. Beverage: vanilla rice milk.Verdict: I usually slice our oranges into wedges (they're prettier and easier to hold), but decided to try peeling it this time, so I could fit more into the lunch box. It wasn't very photogenic, but there were no complaints! He couldn't quite finish all the beans, and saved the rice milk for after school. 4 stars.

46 comments:

Kim M.
said...

Great Idea. Do you find yourself baking alot of Muffins, pancakes, in other words, things that require some type of flour? Im asking because Ive been trying alot of new things lately, preferably soups and desserts. I made a batch of Scones for the first time on Sunday then bought some cherries (your Feb 14 lunchbox) to make some cherry scones and We (I) really like them but feel bad from the overdose of Scones.

Oh, yumm! I love those corn pancakes...I use to eat something like that as a child. Serious comfort food! We have a Trader Joe's here so I will have to look for those beans...wonder if there is a way I could make them for myself?

Those pancakes look good. I've been meaning to check out Vegan Family Favorites. I've never heard of chestnut limas, but they sound exciting. I wish there was a Trader Joe's near me. I'm envious. Another great lunch :)

Rice milk and soy milk have different flavors so you might like one if you don't like the other. Neither tastes exactly like cow's milk though. Having switched to soy milk a year ago, I now think that cow's milk taste's funny, so it all depends upon your perspective.

I am a preschool teacher and usually prepare the morning snack. I am really terrible at peeling oranges, and I used to fret and fuss over getting off all the pith and making sure not to tear any segment... but I've gotten sloppier and sloppier at peeling, and the kids never complain. Sometimes they're critics, but apparently not with oranges!

Looks yummy today! I was flipping through my Animal Times that I got in the mail today, and noticed they had a nice little plug for your website in a veggie kids article. Very cool! You must have been getting tons of hits lately :) Love the blog!

Was the Tuscan Bean Medley one item, or did you buy the beans separately and combine them? Trader Joe's just opened in NYC and I'm already in love with it. It's conveniently located just a couple blocks away from Whole Foods, so I can get a lot of shopping done in the same area.

The Tuscan Bean Medley is a combination of the two beans with a mild hint of seasonings; we love those meaty cannellini and limas. It comes in a can, btw.

>>Did you find that the orange was okay not being in the container with the lid?

Well, I sealed it in a ziplock bag. I don't think it would have been okay without some kind of lid or seal -- too juicy!

>>Does rice milk have a weird taste like soymilk? Is it better (taste wise)?

I think rice milk is more mild and sweet-tasting than soymilk, so you might give it a try. I liked it long before I liked soymilk (although now I love soymilk, so it's just a question of time and adjustment).

We like to "mix it up" and buy soy, rice, almond, hazelnut (my fav), and oat milks alternately, just to keep it nutritionally diverse. In fact, next month at our veggie group meeting I'm hosting a "non-dairy taste test" -- I'm putting out boxes of all sorts of non-dairy milks and people get to vote for the best.

I read your blog every day and love it. Today I tried Asian Miracle Dressing. Thank you so much! My 7 year old daughter ate salad for the first time. It wasn't as spectacular as little shmoo. She didn't ask for more, but for a kid who didn't eat any vegetables or fruit until just under a year ago, it was certainly a miracle. Her twin sister, who loves vegetables and fruit, loved the salad and requested some for her lunchbox tomorrow. I think the idea of adding fruit and nuts really helped. Thanks so much.

jennifer - 5000 hits?? that is crazy! Well done! Shouldn't be surprising as I am a daily veganlunchbox blog checker from australia.. i guess you certainly do have a lot of fans!

ps - i bought my laptop lunchbox after seeing it right here, and must say, it has completely made me eat so much healthier. packing fruit/veg/biccies/yummy lunch goodness into all the compartments makes me really think of all the variety i can include. thank you. x

I'm not a vegan, but let me just tell you what an inspiration your dedication to healthy living is, not to mention the obviously deep love and affection you have for you son. You are a super duper mom!

I look forward to your delectable creations during the week. Keep up the excellent work (though I hesitate to call it "work" as obviously you have fun coming up with the lunch box ideas). =P

OK Vegan Vulcan -- I'll bite. Kale is supposed to be super food for those concerned about eye issues - macular degeneration, etc. My DH has instructions to consume it weekly and you are right. Raw is not the way to go. Checked your site - but did not see your recipe for kale and garlic. Can you post it?

how wonderful. i want a family really badly and i always think about how to raise my child vegetarian like i am. this is rad and inspiring to read with that in mind. (yeah, vegetarian. not hip enough to be vegan)

It will be very garlicky. Heat the oil, add the garlic, once that is translucent add the Oyster Sauce and heat through (it'll start bubbling pretty quickly). Toss in the spinach, preferebly re-washed so there's a little liquid to help it cook.

Serve over brown rice; serves 2.

I'm interested in Vegan Vulcan's Kale & garlic sauce recipe too! The only ideas I have about Kale are from the Skinny Daily Post. Not vegetarian, but passionate about Kale!

hello, i love your blog! i am just wondering if you knew that oranges lose 50% of their vitamin c 5 minutes after peeling them. so, by the time your little schmoo eats lunch he is probably only getting the fiber from the orange, not the vitamins. just thought i'd give you a heads up.

Yum. The corn cakes remind of the corn meal mush my mother made us as a child...basically round fried polenta drizzled with maple syrup. I think adding whole corn is a great idea...I'm going to try it, thanks!